Category Archives: Sheriffs

PHOENIX (Feb. 11, 2015) An Arizona bill that would require most federal agents to get the county sheriff’s permission before making an arrest, or conducting a search or seizure has passed through two committees in the state Senate this week.

Two bills requiring Federal Agents to check with the County Sheriff before conducting business in Arizona are currently moving through the Arizona legislature. These Sheriffs First and Sheriff Permission bills are meant to put restrictions on how Federal officials conduct business in Arizona.

Today the CSPOA learned that the Missouri Sheriff’s Association “Board” voted to oppose a strong and correct piece of legislation (HB436) in an effort to override the Governor’s veto of a bill already passed by a substantial majority of MO legislators. The MO legislature was absolutely correct in doing so and was actually doing their job to keep unlawful federal gun control statutes off the backs of Missourians!

James Madison said, “We can safely rely on the disposition of State Legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority.”

We should be able to depend on Sheriffs, Chiefs of Police, County Commissioners, and all other local officials to do the same; erect barriers against tyranny and DC corruption. The federal government is out of control and local officials have no obligation to go along with it, quite the contrary. If we do oppose federal usurpations then the feds might just retaliate by cutting federal funding for local programs. What does that make local leaders who compromise liberty to keep federal grants coming in?

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News outlets in El Dorado County, California, report that a county sheriff has stripped state law enforcement authority from the US Forestry Service.

Sheriff John D’Agostini made the move in response to a high number of complaints coming to his office. He will not go into details about the complaints received, but says he gave the US Forestry Service plenty of opportunity to respond to the complaints.

“The U.S. Forest Service, after many attempts and given many opportunities, has failed to meet that standard.”

The sheriff has sent a letter to the US Forestry Service stating officers will no longer be able to enforce state law in his county.

“The U.S. Forest Service, after many attempts and given many opportunities, has failed to meet that standard.”

CBS 13 in Sacramento contacted a law professor to ask him if the sheriff’s actions are legal.

“Looks to me as though the sheriff can do this,” he said. “They don’t have state powers in the first place, but essentially the sheriff can deputize individuals to have authority in his or her jurisdiction.”

Fact: federal agencies do not have state powers. Due to the Constitution’s structure of dual sovereignty, the feds have no authority to enforce state laws. Furthermore, states cannot be compelled to enforce federal laws.

The Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) held a successful convention last Friday and Saturday at the Ameristar Hotel in St. Charles, Missouri, a large suburb west of St. Louis. (See video below.)

Featuring a variety of nationally recognized speakers delivering dozens of liberty-promoting messages, the hundreds of lawmen and lawmakers in attendance were reminded of the vital role played by state and local law enforcement and elected officials in repelling the federal government’s assault on freedom.

A central aspect of the state and local counter-offensive is the nullification of any and all unconstitutional acts of the federal government.

Presentations on the first day of the convention were divided into four sections: The Constitution and the Oath of Office; The Right to Keep and Bear Arms; State Sovereignty and the Tenth Amendment; and American Liberty: Whose Job is it?

Representing the John Birch Society, this reporter spoke during the fourth segment, describing threats to liberty posed by the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the effectiveness of state measures refusing to enforce those provisions inside state borders.

Other keynote speakers included Sheriff Richard Mack, founder of the CSPOA, who recounted his experience fighting the Brady Bill and winning his case at the Supreme Court.

As explained on the group’s website, the purpose of the convention is “to equip sheriffs, peace officers and public officials with the necessary information and public support to carry out their duties in accordance with their Oaths of Office.”

The answers lie within our grasp and come from the foundation of our country. The principles are embodied within the Declaration of Independence and outlined in the Constitution.

Yes, America is in deep, deep trouble. The good news is that there is hope and my [CSPOA founder, former Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack’s] victory at the US Supreme Court proves that it only takes a few to stand to make monumental changes. We do not have to stand by and watch while America is destroyed from within. If our counties, cities, and states and all local officers keep their oaths to protect us from tyranny, we can win this battle to take our country back.

This is our plan, our goal and our quest. We are forming the Constitutional Peace Officers Association which will unite all public servants and sheriffs, to keep their word to uphold, defend, protect, preserve, and obey the Constitutions of the United States of America. We already have hundreds of police, sheriffs, and other officials who have expressed a desire to be a part of this Holy Cause of Liberty.

We are going to train and vet them all, state by state, to understand and enforce the constitutionally protected Rights of the people they serve, with an emphasis on State Sovereignty and local autonomy. Then these local governments will issue our new Declaration to the Federal Government regarding the abuses that we will no longer tolerate or accept. Said declaration will be enforced by our Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers. In short, the CSPOA will be the army to set our nation free. This will guarantee this movement remains both peaceful and effective.

To help in the arming of these sheriffs and peace officers with the information they need to stand as the last and best line of defense against the federal government’s near-constant assault on liberty and local law enforcement, the convention will feature speeches from an impressive variety of lawmen, lawmakers, lawyers, and constitutional scholars.